Here, In Your Arms
by readpaintlaugh
Summary: When Ianto gets sick, there's only on man who can take care of him
1. Chapter 1

**Torchwood isn't mine, but I'm happy that people are willing to share :)**

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><p>During work, Jack watched Ianto. He would sit in his office and look through the glass and watch him make coffee, or joke with the rest of the team. It was when Jack watched his lover, when he noticed the things he loved most about the younger man. He noticed how, when it got really quiet, Ianto would sing under his breath, he noticed how carefully Ianto made the coffee, and how sure he was as he walked around the Hub, distributing the cups.<p>

He also became very good at noticing when something was wrong.

It was a Thursday morning, the night before had been the first time in weeks that the two of them slept had in different places, well Ianto slept, and Jack tried to. He hadn't been lying when he told Gwen he didn't sleep, it was always too quiet, but with Ianto by his side, he had begun to slowly reform a sleep pattern that he'd lost a long time ago. When everyone else was on their way out, Jack had stolen a kiss from the younger man, but he had simple mumbled an excuse that Jack didn't really catch and made his way out, only to turn around for another lingering kiss before he left. Jack had stood in the Hub for a few minutes after that kiss, he realized he wouldn't fall asleep next to Ianto that night, the first night in ages. Jack sighed, going off to do some long put off work, something that would keep him up for as long as possible. It didn't bother him, everyone needed and break, and he was more than happy to give Ianto one. However, when he looked a little off the next morning, that was when Jack began to worry. Sure, Ianto can have off days, Jack has off days, everyone has off days, but Ianto looked downright sick, and Jack didn't like the look of that. He had been debating how to confront him about it when he saw Ianto turn a pale shade of green and run down to the archives. Jack worriedly ran out of his office and down the stairs, ignoring the looks that Owen, Tosh, and Gwen shot him. He knew that Ianto was in the archives, it was where the Welshman often went to get some alone time. Jack had often found him sitting in the corner reading a book while the rest of the team was working on paperwork. This time, however, Jack found him holding something else.

Ianto was kneeling on the floor in the archives, panting and holding a trashcan to his chest.

"Oh Ianto," He whispered, crouching next to him and placing a hand on the younger man's forehead. "Why did you even come to work? I could've...you should've called me."

"Jack, I'm fine, really just a-" He jerked forward, dry heaving into the trashcan. Fumbling in his pockets, he pulled out a pill bottle, shakily took out two pills and dry swallowed. Jack frowned and took the bottle out of his hand, reading the label.

"These are antibiotics to fight a kidney infection."

Ianto nodded, "I'm prone to them. I don't know why, but I've been getting them every since I was a kid. I've been getting them for so long...and it didn't seem that bad last night...I thought I'd be fine."

Jack rolled his eyes, typical Ianto. "I hate to break it to you, but you are not fine."

He nodded, "I realize that. I can usually tell when one's coming on, and I thought that if I took the antibiotics last night and went to bed early, I'd be fine in the morning. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. "Most of the time, if I take the pills a day or two early, I can prevent it altogether, but as you can see, it doesn't always work like that."

Jack frowned, he'd never seen Ianto like this, he looked weak and tired. "Ianto-"

"I'll be fine Jack, really I'm used to it by now." He stood up, and Jack almost sighed with relief, until he saw Ianto sway and he was by his side in seconds. "Ianto, please, let me take you home."

He knew the younger man must be feeling worse than he let on, because he nodded slowly. "Stay here okay? I'm going to go talk to the team."

Ianto slid down to the floor when Jack left the room. He thought his stomach had settled, but within a few minutes, he had puked up his pills. Ianto sighed, he couldn't take them again for a few hours, and they kept his symptoms in check. Going home with Jack was sounding better and better.

"Hey, I talked to the team, gave them the weekend off."

"You can't just... T-Tosh was in here with a fever last week.."

"And I sent her home. They understand that this is more than a cold. We all need a little vacation anyway. Now everyone will be in on Monday happy and rested."

Ianto opened his mouth, but Jack stopped him. "I already sent them home, they all send their best. Now come on." He gently helped him up, with one arm securely around Ianto's waist. "I had Gwen bring the car around to in front of the lift, I thought we'd take that, less walking."

"Thanks Jack, I...I don't relish you seeing me like this."

Jack smiled and kissed him on the forehead as they rose to the sidewalk. "I've seen you in practically every other way, it makes no difference to me." They had reached the car, "Now do you want to lie down in the back or sit up front with me?"

"Ah, I'll, um, sit up front."

Jack eased him into the passenger seat and sat in the driver's seat. A few minutes into the ride, he heard Ianto shudder and he took the younger man's hand, rubbing it in small circles with his thumb. "Sure you'll make it?" He asked, attempting to add some levity, but noticing the absence of it in his voice.

"I threw up my pills."

"Can't you just take them again?"

He shook his head, "The antibiotics are strong, even if I throw them up, I have to wait four hours to take them."

"That's how often? Every four hours?"

"Tomorrow its every two hours, but today and Sunday its every four, and on Monday every six, if I need it."

"Okay, I'm on it. You can count on me."

"Jack, it's okay...you just need to drive me home."

He parked in front of Ianto's building and turned toward him. "I'm letting you know right now that I am solely yours until Monday morning. I'm not leaving Ianto, I'm sorry if you'd prefer otherwise, but you're sick, so you don't really have a say."

Ianto's eyes widened and Jack could've sworn he saw them water,"Okay...can we go up? I feel...I feel like I'm either going to pass out or puke."

"Oh! Oh okay...um, I'll come around."

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><p>Ianto managed to change out of his suit and into something more comfortable without Jack's help. (even though he had offered with a cheeky grin)<p>

"So, we can do whatever you'd like, within reason of course, you are sick." Jack said, sitting next to Ianto on the couch and putting his feet on the coffee table.

"Um, a movie would be nice, I guess."

He stood up, "Okay! Your pick, as always."

Ianto chuckled, he'd let Jack pick the movie once and it hadn't done either of them good, the immortal just didn't have good taste in movies. "There's one in there already, I watch it so much, I don't even bother taking it out."

He got Ianto the remote and sat back down, "Do you want to lay down? It might be more comfortable."

Ianto shook his head, "No, I'm good-"

"Love Actually? Really?"

"Yes Jack! It's not all just hearts and candy anyway."

Jack sighed and put his arm behind Ianto's head, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Ianto shushed him and Jack smirked, glad that this little illness hadn't hidden Ianto's usual demeanor entirely. Oh, he sighed, as the movie began, he'd forgotten how much he liked Hugh Grant.

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><p><strong>Woo! Go me for not making this totally depressing! This is a multi-chapter fic, I already have Ch.2 done, and a good part of Ch.3, so hopefully this'll be finished pretty quickly. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! :) <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh how I love Torchwood...too bad its Russell T. Davis's**

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><p>Sometime during the movie, Ianto fell asleep, his head resting on Jack's shoulder. Jack let him stay there for a little while after the movie ended, not wanting to disturb him. It wasn't until his wrist strap beeped that he woke Ianto up.<p>

"Hey, it's time to take your pills," Jack whispered, gently shaking the younger man and kissing his forehead.

"Mhm, did you...did you set an alarm?" he said rubbing his eyes.

"Yup, let me get you some water okay? I don't think dry swallowing helped last time."

"Jack, can you get me some toast? I'm not supposed to take them on an empty stomach."

Jack turned in the doorway and smiled. It was probably wishful thinking, but he thought Ianto already sounded better. "Of course I can."

Jack returned five minutes later with two pieces of buttered toast, a glass of water, and two pills. "Eat one piece of toast slowly okay? Sip of water between bites, and then you can take the pills before you have the other piece."

"Done this before, have you?"

The American shrugged, "I had some time to think after the movie ended."

"Oh you should've woken me up."

"I was fine, and you look hot when you're sleeping, so we both lucked out." Jack added with a wink and Ianto rolled his eyes as he finished a piece of toast.

"Pills," he said, sticking his hand out. Jack shook his head, "Wait a few minutes and make sure you keep it down." He paused, "So...when's the last time you got one of these?" He handed Ianto the pills.

"Ah, well I haven't actually had one since before Canary Warf. The past couple years, I've been able to prevent them. I thought they were finally gone, until yesterday of course."

"Right, the mumbled exit, you know I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Neither did I, I'm afraid. We've gotten too used to sleeping next to each other."

"Well if you'd told me yesterday, then you might not have been like this today. You needed sleep."

Ianto sighed, "I'm sorry, I know I should've told you, but you know how stubborn I get."

Jack leaned in for a kiss, "Yeah, I do."

They kissed for a minute or so, until Ianto pushed away, his face was a pale green and sweat bead were forming on his forehead. "Um, not tonight."

"Right, sorry, you should get into bed. Like I said, you need sleep."

Ianto sighed and nodded, standing up. He took a few steps and Jack watched him carefully, getting to him just as his knees buckled. Ianto shuddered and buried his face in Jack's neck. Jack rubbed his back, "I can carry you, if you need it." He whispered and he heard Ianto laugh.

"No, I think I'm okay if I just lean on you."

Just like before, he helped Ianto stand and he kept a firm hold on his waist and helping the younger man into bed. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

Ianto nodded, his eyes had already begun to close. Jack smiled and went into the other room, he had a call to make.

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><p>"Jack, stop worrying."<p>

"I'm not worrying! I'm just being careful, I want Ianto to be comfortable."

"No, you love him and it scares you that he's sick. You're doing everything right, calm down."

"Martha are you sure? He has a kidney infection, shouldn't he be in the hospital or something?"

"From what you tell me, Ianto seems to know what to do. His infection doesn't seem that severe, compared to some cases I've seen. Sometimes patients are in such severe pain-"

"He's in pain?"

"That's partly what antibiotics prevent, but if he's thrown them up, he's probably in a little pain. Most of his symptoms are really from the antibiotics, or are increased because of them, a kidney infection can actually go unchecked for a while, it depends how severe the pain is." Martha paused, she had a feeling this wasn't helping, "Look, Jack, sleep is the number one thing Ianto needs right now, next to his pills. Make sure he gets some food and liquids, but mostly just let him sleep. Just keep a close watch on his ankles, I'm sure Ianto knows this, but if they swell up, get him to the hospital."

Jack nodded, "Thanks Martha, ready to join Torchwood yet?"

She laughed, "Not today. Bye Jack."

"Bye Martha." Jack closed the phone and looked down to find a bleary eyes Ianto sitting on the floor. He'd only kept the pills down for an hour. Jack sat down next to him and Ianto laid his head on Jack's shoulder.

"Does your back hurt?"

He nodded.

"Would you like to just sit here for a bit?"

He nodded again.

Jack sighes and puts his arms around the younger man, gently dragged him closer. He feels Ianto shudder, and his heart almost breaks. He wants to take all the pain away. He wants to make Ianto fall asleep, and wake up all better, but Jack knows he can't do that. He has to wait, and watch him get worse, and remind himself that he'll get better in the end.

"You know, this will not be a comfortable place to fall asleep," Jack whispers, and he hears something resembling a chuckle in reply. Jack's eyes dart at his ankles, and he almost sighs with relief, they haven't swelled. He whispers another encouraging comment about getting up, and Ianto complies, leaning heavily on the American as they walk back into the bedroom. He tucks the American back into bed, but this time he doesn't leave. Jack strips down to his undershirt and boxers, slipping into bed. Ianto smiled at him, his eyes already closed.

Jack fell asleep soon after, his head swimming with worries of what tomorrow would hold.

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><p><strong>Hm. So, I'd just like to let you know, that I pretty much made up all of the medical stuff here(except the pain, my friend told me that they hurt bunches...meh) I hope you enjoyed it! I promise, Ianto won't be that desolate through the entire story...<br>Anyways, working on Ch.3! Pleas review while you wait! ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Nope, not mine, never will be... -sniffle- **

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><p>Ianto had only been drunk twice in his life and only once had he actually enjoyed it.<p>

The first time was right after Canary Warf. He'd lost everything, his job, his girlfriend. He wished he'd died in the battle with his friends. It was horrible, the hangover, something he hoped he'd never experience again. In all day with a headache, he googled 'Torchwood,' wondering what the conspiracies the internet was coming up with.  
>That was the day he decided to move back to Cardiff, with a job prospect in mind.<p>

The second time, was a little while after Jack came back from his travels with his doctor. They'd finished a particularly hard job, and the team decided to get a little boozed up. It was very different from his first time. All of them got drunk, even Jack, and they spent most of the night laughing and drinking. Somehow, Gwen, Owen, and Tosh managed to get home safely and that left Jack and Ianto to themselves. The alcohol had broken down that barrier that Ianto usually held, and he could barely keep his hands off Jack. Jack, equally pissed, hadn't complained.  
>They'd woken up with pounding headaches the next morning, but he was with Jack, and that was all the mattered.<p>

Having a kidney infection was a hangover times ten. Headaches, puking, dizziness, the works. Ianto hadn't known what time he'd woken up that morning, he hadn't bother to look at the clock because his number one occupation at the moment had been getting to the toilet.

At least he'd made it to the bathroom.

So Jack found him, an hour later, sitting on the floor, too tired to get himself back to bed.

"I threw up."

"I gathered that," Jack whispered, squatting next to him.

"I missed the toilet. So I managed to clean it up, but then I threw up again. That time, I reached the toilet." Ianto had his knees close to his chest, with his arms folded over them. His forehead was resting on his arms. "My back hurts," He whispered feebly.

Jack got up, "I'll be right back." The American returned minutes later, with a new shirt, a glass of water, and two little blue pills in hand.

"You need to stay in bed," He sighed, rubbing the younger man's back as he swallowed the pills.

"Not if I need to throw up I don't."

"I'll find you a bucket."

"Jack, stop worrying. Really, I'll get through this."

"I'm not..."

Ianto's head snapped up, "Yes, yes, you are. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me, or my ankles, which are a normal size by the way." He sighed, "I appreciate it, but I hate seeing you like this."

Jack hung his head, "Ditto," he mumbled .

Ianto cupped his face, "You're doing everything right. Just keep doing it, and sit back and let my body do the rest of the work, in a few days, I'll be normal Ianto, I promise."

Jack smiled and gave the Welshman a soft kiss, "You're warm."

"But I haven't thrown up yet."

"Well, that's a start I suppose, you need anything?"

"Sleep, you, not exactly in that order."

He smirked, "No, no, no, no sex until you're better, we barely kissed last night and you almost threw up."

He shrugged, "Worth a try."

Jack chuckled, and rubbed Ianto's hair gently, "Come on. I'll help you up."

"Jack, I don't need..." Ianto stood up, and swayed as the vertigo hit.

"Oh, I think you do. Now come on, lean on me."

The Welshman quietly began humming the song of the same title, and Jack raised an eyebrow, "Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

"51st century pheromones." He paused, looking up at Jack, "No, really, that, mixing with my medicine is either making me high, or immensely turned on by you, more so than usual I mean."

"I think you're high," Jack smiled as he whispered in Ianto's ear as they reached the bed, he couldn't help but enjoy this a little. "Now go to sleep, and next time you wake up I won't smell...like me."

"Don't you dare," He groaned, narrowing his eyes at the immortal.

"Yeah, I'm definitely sleeping on the couch all weekend. Go to sleep." Jack kissed him on the head, and shut the door, listening as Ianto's breathing evened out minutes later. He stepped into the kitchen and took out his phone again.

"Oh for god's sake Jack, what is it?"

"Owen, I'm getting Ianto high."

"I really don't need to know your sick games...please hang up."

"No, no, really, my pheromones are mixing with his medicine, and he's reacting. How do I make myself not smell like me temporarily?"

Jack could hear Owen pacing, "Let's see, masking a smell...you could always try...tomato juice!"

"You're kidding."

"No, listen, Jack, it could really work! It works on skunk smell, which is a pheromone in itself, but because you produce it, it will only mask it for a short time..."

"You're telling me to take a bath in tomato juice?"

"Nah, you need the opposite effect, so...drink it?"

Jack rubbed his face and checked Ianto's cupboards, "Will tomato soup do the trick?"

"Should."

"Ah, well, thanks Owen, oh, could Ianto eat this stuff?"

"Well, probably, every body's tolerance to food during an illness like this is different, but its worth a try, and you're welcome, tell Ianto I said feel better."

Jack had already hung up the phone, he had one more task to attempt while the soup was warming. Ianto's sheet's still had the pheromones all over them...he needed to get those off the bed, without waking the Welshman up. He sighed, boy did he have his work cut out for him.

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><p>Captain Jack Harkness had been a field operative for Torchwood for a long time. His missions had never failed, that was, until he took over Torchwood Cardiff. After that, his missions hadn't always gone to plan. However, he was determined to complete the task at hand without fail, even if it was just changing the bedsheets of a bed with a sleeping Welshman in it.<p>

Jack was halfway done, he'd managed to get the sheets off, and the pillows without disturbing Ianto, and he had the bottom sheet almost off, he just had to pull it out from under Ianto.

He stopped himself, since when did he get so domesticated? The infamous Jack Harkness, changing sheets? Unheard of. He had a feeling the answer to his question was lying on the very sheets he was attempting to change.

He sighed, if he didn't do it now, he'd never get to it. He closed his eyes and pulled, sighing with relief when he didn't hear a thump.

Mission accomplished.

After replacing the blanket and pillows, he snuck out into the kitchen, pleasantly surprised to see that the soup was ready. Sitting down at the table with an extra large bowl of the red liquid, he checked his watch, in a half an hour, he'd wake Ianto up for his pills.

Hopefully by then he'd smell less like the 51st century and more like a tomato.

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><p><strong>I don't know why this got so goofy. When my brain first spit out tomato juice, I knew I was going crazy, but hey, it works out okay, right? Its probably because I wrote the second part of this after I watched Exit Wounds and my subconscious was craving some nicer Torchwoodness. Anyway, please review! I promise I'll have chapter four up as soon as possible!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**The characters aren't mine...-sigh- **

**Warning: There are two very, very, very minor spoilers in this chapter, one for Dead Man Walking in the beginning and the other for Something Borrowed at the end. **

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><p>The problem with Torchwood, is that nightmares came with the pension. No matter how little you're on the field, you will see things you'd never see elsewhere, and they'll stick with you until the end. All of the members had recurring nightmares, some of them getting them more often than others. Of course, Owen didn't sleep anymore, so he'd escaped them somewhat. Tosh seems good at blocking them out, and Gwen has Rhys to separate her home life from work, but all Jack and Ianto really have are each other, and that doesn't help either of them with the dreams. Jack wasn't surprised to find the younger man in a restless sleep, which encouraged him even more to wake him up. He sat down on the bed, rubbing Ianto's arm gently, and the Welshman stirred awake.<p>

Ianto blinked up at him, "Hi."

"Hey, feeling any better?"

"My headache is worse, but I have a feeling that isn't from my illness."

Jack snorted, "Its not my fault I smell good! I took care of it though, I don't smell for the time being."

Ianto groaned, and Jack thought he was going to make a snarky comment, but instead, he ran past Jack and dry heaved into the toilet.

He sighed, and sat back against the shower, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Hey, hey," The American said soothingly, sitting next to him. "You're going to be okay."

He knew why the Welshman was upset. If there was one thing Ianto hated the most, it was being helpless. That's one of the reasons why he liked making coffee, it was something he could fully control the outcome of. So something like this, an illness that he knew would go away, but in the meantime he'd be stuck with symptoms, must frustrate him more than anything.

"I hate this, Jack. I hate throwing up, I hate not having anything to throw up, I hate feeling dizzy, I hate having a fever, I hate you having to see me like this."

"You know that doesn't bother me."

"But it bothers me!" Ianto attempted to stand up, but thought better of it, and sagged against Jack.

Jack rubbed his back, "You don't need to put a mask on with me, Ianto, you never have."

Ianto didn't answer and Jack kissed his forehead, "There's some leftover tomato soup, if you'd like some."

The younger man took a shaky breath, "I don't really feel like eating right now."

"Okay, I'll get your pills and a glass of water, and then you can get back to sleep."

"Do you think we can do something other than sleep? I..."

"Sure, what do you want to do? Within reason of course."

Ianto smiled, "You know how to play chess?"

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><p>Ianto had taught himself to play chess when he was twelve. He'd asked his dad long ago, but the answer had always been 'another time.' So Ianto got a book out of the library, and taught himself how to play. The problem after that was, he had no one to play with. He'd tried teaching Rhiannon, he really had, and she'd tried to learn, but it hadn't worked out very well. None of his friends knew how to play, or wanted to learn. It wasn't until he went to London that he found people who knew how to play, and they all were beyond the level of the kid who taught himself to play from a book.<p>

Lisa had known how to play, but she wasn't really interested in that kind of stuff.

Ianto often found himself playing with himself.

Until he met Tosh.

Tosh was just on the right level of challenge that he could actually enjoy the game, no matter the outcome. They'd played quite a bit, after Jack left, they'd even started having Friday night pizza and chess dates. When Jack came back, not much changed, they just got a little busier, and they had to move the dates to Thursday, at Tosh's insistence.

Never in his life had Ianto thought that he would ever play chess with Jack.

They were sitting cross-legged on the couch, facing each other, with the board in front of them. Jack was black, Ianto was white.

"Don't let me win just because I'm sick." Ianto had warned before they started, and Jack had stuck to his promise, he was absolutely crushing him.

"Checkmate." Jack proclaimed with a smirk, after dragging Ianto's poor unsuspecting queen into a deathtrap.

"Where the hell did you learn how to play like that?"

"A lot of places really, Boston, London, India. I've gotten around, remember?"

Ianto shook his head, "And I actually thought I was winning in the beginning..."

"Oh, you were, it was just part of my four step evil plan."

Ianto shook his head, "You're crazy."

"Ah, careful what you say about your boss."

The Welshman chuckled, moving the board to the coffee table and shifting so he was leaning against Jack, his head on the immortal's chest.

"Feeling better?"

"A bit."

He placed a hand on Ianto's forehead, "Feeling a little cooler, ankle check."

He lifted up his pants, and Jack nodded approvingly, "Normal sized, good, how's the back?"

"Aching," Jack checked his wrist strap as Ianto's stomach grumbled faintly.

Jack laughed, "That's a good sign! I'll warm up the soup, to eat with your pills."

After devouring the first soup, taking his pills, and feeling a little queasy, Ianto resumed the position he had taken before Jack made him dinner.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would've been like without Torchwood?" Jack asked softly.

"No, never. Once, right after the Rhys found out, I wondered what would happen if I were Retconned, if I had to be Retconned, but then I thought...what on Earth would I do to have to be Retconned, to want to be Retconned? Torchwood is my dream job." He looked up at Jack, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." _Only that sometimes I feel like I'm putting you in danger, not just you, but all of you. You're all just pieces of glass that I'm trying to juggle. And every time something like this happens, even though it isn't my fault, or someone gets hurt, I'm reminded of just how breakable you are. I wonder that if I'd never hired you, if I'd never even come to Torchwood in the first place, if you would've ever had to face the danger you face everyday. _

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"I'm going to go to the bathroom okay? I thought I'd tell you, instead of me just getting up, and you freaking out."

"Oh, okay, thanks for the update."

Ianto saluted, "No problem."

He got halfway there, he managed to walk all the way through the living room, and into the bedroom. The bathroom was in sight, when all of a sudden, the room seemed too hot, and his back ached too much, and the floor tilted. Ianto groaned, sinking to the ground, his head falling between his knees as he sat on the floor. He waited for a moment, and then, Jack was there, his arms around the younger man, rocking him slowly as he shuddered.

They were going to be okay. Ianto would heal. On Monday he really would be back to same old Ianto. Gwen would get married, and they'd dance at her wedding. There were trials to come, but they didn't need to worry about that yet, because for the time being, all they had to do was rest in each other's arms.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading guys! I really liked writing this, and I like how it came out (even though chapter three was a little crazy, but hey, this was nice and sane over all!) I've got some other stuff that I'm working on, and it should be up eventually. Please review!<strong>


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